Summary

Our Score

8/10

Review Price free/subscription

Compared to the Butterfly Touch's slightly underpowered dual-core 1.2GHz Intel Celeron SU2300, the Acer's dual-core 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100 offers noticeably better performance across the board. However, the PB machine performs well enough for most common tasks and applications, and we dislike the compromises in memory and hard drive space Acer has had to make to accommodate the faster processor.

Its faster CPU doesn't help the 1825PTZ much in gaming either, as Intel's integrated graphics only managed a pitiful 12.2fps in TrackMania Nations Forever – in other words, a 3D gaming laptop this is not.

However, its CULV CPU combines with the frugal graphics to give this laptop identically impressive seven and a half hour battery life to its sibling – hardly surprising considering it sports the same 5,600mAh/63Watt-Hour battery. You'd have to be very demanding for the 1825PTZ not to last a whole day on a full-charge, which is a great feature to have from a machine you'll want to carry around with you on a regular basis.

Obviously, the 1825PTZ's biggest competitor is Acer subsidiary Packard Bell's Butterfly Touch, since as already mentioned the machines differ only in a few aesthetic touches and internal specifications. Unfortunately, the Butterfly Touch has gone up in price since we reviewed it, but either way the 1825PTZ is still at least £50 more expensive.

Were all else the same, its faster processor would be worth this premium, but regrettably Acer has also cut back on the RAM and hard drive space. Considering the Butterfly Touch's CPU can handle everyday applications and tasks just fine, and with the additional benefits of its softer palm rests and the pre-installed copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, it wins the shootout hands-down.

Verdict

On its own merits, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is a great little convertible tablet laptop and not bad value. However, the almost identical Packard Bell EasyNote Butterfly Touch simply offers more for the money, so unless a faster CPU is worth more to you than additional RAM and hard drive space, it's the better option.